Nahavand, Avesta Art, Sweden, 2016

Nahavand Project

Nahavand Project,2016In collaboration with Sirous Namazi

NahavandNahavand is a province in Iran and one of the oldest regions in the country, with amazing scenery, rich culture and ancient history.The project Nahavand is a collaboration between artists Raha Rastifard and Sirous Namazi. We both live and work in Stockholm but have our origins in Iran. The project came out of our daily discussions about this specific location and our former homeland, and out of our longing to return. We would,in the province of Nahavand in Iran, create a room and architecture that through its presence indicates equality and transparency. An architecture that would include and not exclude. An architecture which harmonizes with nature and the existing buildings around it. A house bearing a message.We want to experiment with this idea and create an actual place where you can return, stay, meet, discuss, and reflect. We want to immerse ourselves in the idea about how and in what ways an architecture can change, create meetings and discussions. Nahavand is an work-in-progress project. What is presented in this exhibition is the first strike in a longer process. This process continues to evolveand grow in scope.The photographs in this exhibition room show Raha’s two-week-long research trip to the region as well as Sirous’ three-dimensional architecturemodels and 3D renderings, an on-going sketching for the final building. The handwritten texts on models are a continuation of Raha’s earlier diaryworks connected with the Nahavand project.